Thursday, May 10, 2012

Reflecting on our First 6 Months Here (2 Months Late)...

My poor little blog has been severely neglected… Suffice to say it has been a very busy
several months around here. Lucy is a mobile, crazy, curious little lady now,
and Kane is as much of a handful as ever ;)

This winter was very challenging for me. It was full of
near-constant illness, it was very gloomy and dark, we went nearly two months
without a car, and I felt incredibly isolated and lonely at times. It was bitter cold in February. But then
March came and with it, a beautiful spring, and I fell head-over-heels in love
with it here all over again.

When we first arrived here, people who had been through this
experience before said it would take at least 6 months to a year to truly feel
settled. It seemed so long to me and with as much as we have moved in our years
together, I thought it would happen sooner. Nope. It took right almost exactly 6
months to really feel “at home” and feel more comfortable getting around.

Reflecting on our experience thus far has made me realize,
once again, what an incredible experience and opportunity living here has been.
I’m still in awe of it and though I miss our families terribly, I’m relishing
the chance to be here. I was thinking
back to when we first found out we’d be moving here and all the excitement,
trepidation, and the ideas we had. In some ways it has met my expectations, and
in others it hasn’t. It’s just as beautiful, even more than I could have
imagined. I have not gone out as much as I had envisioned. The reality is that
we live in a pretty rural part on the outskirts of town and I’ve fallen into a pretty
steady and predictable routine with the kids. The other thing is we had grand
visions of traveling while we are here. Well…we have yet to travel further than
a few hours from home. Truth of the matter is, it is expensive living here and
most of all, it is challenging to go places with small children! Especially an
infant that thrives on a schedule. We’re still learning the ropes and are
hoping to remedy this very soon. This has been my biggest frustration, is that
we’ve not gone anywhere yet. It has always been a life dream of mine to see
Europe and never in a million years thought I’d get the chance. Yet, here we
are. I focus on what little I have gotten to see, and it has been beyond my
wildest expectations. Germany has certainly captured our hearts and I am so
grateful for this opportunity. Can’t wait to see what God has in store for us
next on this adventure!